Vending-machine.



D. H. BEELMAN.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DE0.18,1911.

Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1 V l l l l l D. H. BEELMAN.

VENDING MACHINE., APPLICATION FILED DE01?, 1911.

Llgl Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE :vorerels PETERS CO PHOTO L/THo.. WASHING ruN. D. C

D. lH. BBBLMAN,

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1120.18, 1911.

Patented Dec. 22, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET s.

fg uw rrr. srirrns DAVID H. BEELMAN, 0F ST. LUIS, MISSOURI.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 22, 1914i.

Application le December 18, 1911. Serial No. 866,592.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Drivrn 1-1. BEELMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Vendingl/Iachines, of which the following is a specification.

T his invention relates to vending machines, and has for its primaryV object to provide an improved construction, combination and arrangement of parts in a device of this character, according to which it can be simply and economically constructed, and which will be durable in service and eficient in operation.

@ne of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved delivery mechanism, and an improved coin released locking device therefor.

Other and further objects will appear in the specification, and be speciiically pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings exemplifying the invention, and in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my vending machine, complete. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line :I1-JI, Fig. 1, parts being shown in elevation. F ig. 3 is a fragmentary section on the line lll-111, Fig. 2, parts being shown in elevation. Fig. A is a section on the line IV-IV, Fig. 8. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on the line `V-V, Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a section similar to that shown in Fig. 2, showing the parts in different positions.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,` and, for the sake of convenience in disclosing my invention, confining my description more especiallyy to the adaptation shown in the drawings, the preferred form of my vending machine comprises an outer housing 1, with a show window 2 occupying the greater' portion of'its front face, a bottom panel 3 with a closure l by means of which access is gained to the interior thereof, and certain other details of construction to be hereinafter referred to.

1n the embodiment shown, provision is made for vending articles, such as books, pamphlets, packaged merchandise, and the like, which can be obtained by depositing a coin of predetermined value in the slots 5, the coin serving to release a locking mechanism to be hereinafter fully described, when, by pulling the handle 6 on the outer `end of a draw bar 7, a shutter 8 is withdrawn from the discharge outlet 9, and one of the articles to be vended is expelled.

As shown in Fig. 2, the shutter 8 is slidably mounted upon a wedge-shaped pad 10, said shutter being provided with a slot 11 through which the shank of a screw 12 eX- tends. An arm 13 projecting from the lower end of the closure 8, isprovided with an L- shaped slot 14, through which slides a pin 15 which projects laterally from a throw lever 16. r1`he lever arm 16 is rigid with a rock shaft 17 which is journaled at one end in a hanger 18, and at its other end in a bearing bracket 19. A spring arm 2O is acted upon by a spring 21 which is secured at its rear end to the rear wall of a housing 1 and serves to hold the parts normally in f the positions shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 6, when the draw bar 7 is drawn into forward position, the throw lever 16 is in lowered position, having drawn the slide 8 downwardly while the pin 15 is passing through the horizontal portion of thehL-shaped slot 14. By the time the slide has reached its lowermost position, it will be seen that the path of the pin 15 coincides in direction with the vertical portion of the slot 1-1, and hence the throw lever 16 is released from the slot 141.

A walking beam lever 22, which is fulcrumed at 23, has its upper end pivotally connected at 24 with the inner end of the draw bar 7. The lower end of the lever 23 is connected by a link 25 with the power arm 26 of the delivery mechanism, said power arm being rigid with the rock shaft 17.

Rigidly secured to the rock shaft 17, in any suitable manner not specifically concerned in the present invention, is a pusher comprising a cylindrical rod 27, which is provided adjacent its upper end with a slot 28, within which slides a pin 29, which is carried by a pusher cap 30. A spring 31 interposed between a shoulder 32 on the rod I27 and the inner end of the cap 30 serves to l:normally hold the cap 30 in outermost position, in which it is adapted to engage the bottommost of a pile of articles 33 to be vended. |These articles 33 are stacked upon a horizontal partition 3-1, which has a slot B5 therein, through which the cap 8O is moved. 1n action, it will be seen (see Fig. 6) that the pusher cap 30 is, in its outer `position, adapted to engage the rear end of an article 33 and to move said article, and to project said article far enough through the housing to be readily grasped by the pur- Chaser. In order to adapt the cap 30 to be returned to normal position without undue friction, its upper rear corner is rounded, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, so that its rearward movement compresses the spring 3l under the weight of the stack until'it reaches a point adjacent the rear wall, when the spring 3l again expands and forces the cap 30 again into outward position in which it is ready to engage the next article to be vended.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 4 and 6, the construction and operation of the locking device will be readily understood. When the coin or check 36 is introduced into the slot 5, it passes downwardlj7 through a slot 37 in the lateral wall of the housing (see Fig. 3, and dotted lines in Fig. 4) until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 4, when it im- ,pinges the lower end of a curved link 38, lfrom the lower end of which projects a pin 39 which normally engages in the notch 40 in the plate 4l, said notch being suitably disposed to hold the draw bar 7 against forward movement until the coin or check 36 forces it rearwardly, and guides the pin 39 into a curved slot 42 in the plate 4I. Vhen, therefore, the handle 6 is drawn outwardly, the draw bar 7 is free to move, and the parts are thrown into the positions shown in Fig. 6. Almost immediately the coin 36 is released, and rolls down the inclined way 43 into a suitable receptacle. "When the parts are returned to norma-l position under the action of the spring 21, the pin 39 is again lodged within the notch 40, and the machine is again locked.

Among the constructional features of my device, I employ a plurality of guides or guards which, according to the preferred embodiment of my invention, shown in the drawings, are constructed of straps 44 which are mounted upon the front show window panel which carries the glass 2. These straps 44 are spaced from the window frame in such a manner as to overhang at their lower ends the discharge outlet 9. By these means, the articles 33 stacked within the receptacle are guided in their passage downwardly, and thereby prevented from becoming caught in the window frame, or other projecting corners. As shown in Fig. 2, the lower ends of the guards 44 are deflected outwardly to meet the inner upper corner of the discharge outlet 9, this insuring that each article 33 as it is projected forward registers with the discharge outlet, while those above it in the stack are retained within the receptacle.l In order to further insure a smooth passage downwardly of the articles 33, the guards 44 are offset more at the upper edge of the front panel than at the lower edge thereof, thus arranging the guards 44 on an incline as shown in Fig. 2, thus allowing clearness of the article as it progresses downward. According to my preferred embodiment, the guards 44 are carried entirely by the front panel, for which purpose I preferably mount said front panel to swing about a pair of oppositely disposed pivots 45, the upper edge of the panel being secured, when the machine is in operation, by means of a lock 46.

lVhat I claim is:

l. In a vending machine, the combination with a rock shaft, of a pusher carried thereby, a draw bar operatably related to said rock shaft, a locking link pivotally connected at one end to said draw bar and provided at its other end with a laterally projecting pin, a plate provided with a slot within which said pin travels, said link be ing normally in locking position, and means for conveying a check to the swinging end of said locking lilik to move it into released position.

2. In a vending machine, the combination with a rock shaft, of a pusher carried thereby, a draw bar operatably connected to said shaft, a plate provided with a slot, a link pivotally suspended from said draw bar and provided with a pin traveling in said slot, said plate being provided with a notch communicating with said slot and adapted to normally lock the link in position to hold the draw bar against movement, and a slot for conveying a check to the lower end of said link to release the pin from said notch.

3. In a vending machine, the combination with a fixed plate, of a lever mounted on said plate intermediate of its ends, a draw bar connected to one end of said lever, a rock shaft operatably connected to the other end of said lever, a pusher carried by said rock shaft, a link pivotall)7 suspended by one end from said dra-w bar and having a laterally projecting pin at its lower end, said plate being provided with a curved slot with a notch at its lower end normally retaining said link in locked position, said slot being adapted to permit the operation of said rock shaft by an upward movement of said draw bar when said pin is removed from the notch by the impact of a check.

DAVID H. BEELMAN.

In the presence of- H. G. FLETCHER, N. C. HAMMON.

Copies oi this patent may be obtained for ive cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. C. 

